February 2007 Update on the Healthy Minds Initiative

From the February 2007 edition of the Healthy Minds Cooperative's The Blue Horse Chronicles:

By Amanda Crabtree, Project Manager

One of the main aims of the Healthy Minds Initiative is to increase access to appropriate supports and services. This includes everything from mental health information to mental health care to housing. I would like to highlight some examples of what we’re doing now to improve access. These will give you a sense of some of the new things we would like to start and changes we would like to make over the next weeks and months to improve access.

Last year, the [Capital District] Mental Health Program started a supported housing project through Connections Clubhouse. This project has now helped five clients to move from hospital to the community and ten others are expected to move to the community soon.

The Two Hundred Fifty Homes Committee, whose members aim to increase housing options for people living with mental illness or mental health issues, will be reaching out to more community organizations and agencies over the next month [contact has already been made with the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia]. They are interested in working with these groups to develop a plan to improve access to safe and affordable housing.

Community Mental Health is working with the IWK Health Centre, the Healthy Minds Cooperative, Halifax Public Libraries and other community organizations [including the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia] to provide mental health workshops in March and April. The workshops are free and open to everyone (for a schedule, click here). Registration is not required.

For more information on the Healthy Minds Initiative, please e-mail or call me: amanda.crabtree@cdha.nshealth.ca
or 460-7401.